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djsunyc
Posts: 44929
Alba Posts: 42
Joined: 1/16/2004
Member: #536
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http://wfan.com/chrismikeaudio/?b_start=180
(december 16th interview with isiah w/ mike francessa)
background, the knicks are 6-15, coming off two home back to back blowouts.
- we are in rebuilding mode, we have a great coach, and he will make it work
- larry typically start slow and always find a way to win and i'm confident he'll get it done here
- they're aware the type of coach larry is and the type of genius he possess. alot of times he will say some things and the players understand the type of coach he is. he's a very old school coach and he's about testing you mentally as opposed to physically. and at the end of the day the people that can withstand the test will be mentally strong and the ones that can withstand it, we'll try to find another place for them to play.
- (on larry going after the players publicly). there's a certain amount of honesty to the approach that he has. the players, to a man, have tried their best for him. he's a difficult coach and a different coach than alot of them have experienced and he's one of the best in the business. we're happy to have him, and lucky to have him and it's a long process.
- he would've like to have lb at the start of the summer in terms of planning and draft. there are probably some players on the team he wouldn't want to coach or fit but they're willing to give him the players he wants b/c they support him.
- (on lb talking about the team poorly constructed). for the most part, all the teams are trying to find the right mix.
- (did you expect the team to be this bad). none of us expected the record that we have. they've been upfront at the start of the season that they didn't know what they had. and not knowing how the players would respond to the coach and how the coach would responds to the players. chuck daly had a line "you don't know a player until you coach them". and lb said it would take about 20 games to figure it out and for the most part, he's starting to settle in on the style he's trying to play.
- (rooks pushing for playing time means the vets aren't giving him what he wants). i never second guess the coach. my job is to get him the players he wants. i think, with the young kids playing, and in a rebuilding process, i don't necessarily see it as a bad thing. we didn't say we would build this team with alot of hardcore veterans and we were trying to go young. with young players, you're gonna get alot of mistakes. miss ft's, don't box out, and turn the ball over. that's why coach's usually go with vets. but they have the best coach to teach them and 2 or 3 years down the road they will be better off for it.
- (disappointed in curry's to stay on the floor). i'm surprised at his ability to score but he needs to be a better rebounder and defender. and they knew that coming in. if he was, there was no way they could've gotten him. i don't know but time will tell about his career if he's injury prone or not. we'll see.
- (what about james after getting curry). i wouldn't say james is obsolete but i understand the question. the timing of the way the summer came down, they signed james before curry became available.
- (marbury + larry will not be a good fit). i'm hoping they can co-exist. i know they're both trying and bending over backwards trying to accomodate each other and at the end of the day, it's not working, they'll have to do something. (if the marriage fails, can you trade him). i think it's way too soon to entertain that type of question. privately and publicly, they're both trying to make it work and as manager will give it every opportunity to make it work. (do you think they can co-exist). if the coach wasn't lb, i would say "no". but seeing what he's done in other places, and the pg's struggled under him, and the type of guards he won with, i think he can. he transformed an iverson, who's different that billups. he's transformed every pg and he hopes marbury can and if there's anybody that can do it, we have him (in larry). guys that can't play the way larry wants to play, we'll try to find the way to move him. the players effort is there, nobody is being combative and everyone is trying to do the things he wants done. this is the type of team they want to have, one that lb coaches.
- we have three key pieces now. a center that's 22, a pf that's 22, and a great coach. from here on out, you figure out how to build around those three pieces. (about omitting marbury). it's not marbury's team anymore...it's lb's team. anytime you get a center like curry, and a player such as frye, legitimate bigs, you find the guards to complement the bigs. and they're seeing if it'll work with steph + lb. i have faith in lb to make it work. he'll be dogmatic about it and he'll pound it in his head until he gets it and he believes steph is strong enough mentally to make it work.
- lb and i are on the same page. it will be a drawn out and tedious process.
- (do you expect to make alot of changes). we'll always continue to make changes until we're top of the mountain. i'm not looking to compromise our future to help our present. i think you have to give curry and frye a chance. and now they're committed to rebuild and they have a coach that's committed to doing it.
- (malik said that the vets weren't playing hard). i think it's good to have competition in the roster and if the younger guys are pushing the vets to play harder, that's a good thing. unfortunately, in this league, the veterans sometimes become complacent. and they need to be pushed and if they feel like they get guaranteed dollars they need guaranteed minutes.
- (how would you grade yourself after two years). in all honesty, i would give myself an incomplete. i'm still in the middle of taking the test. i like what i have in the young players and getting marbury to fill the building back again and the excitement is back.
- (do you agree with lb that this roster isn't balanced). if you're not winning a championship, every coach thinks the same thing. i know we have a good coach. i think we have a long ways to go and we're a work in progress. i'm not gonna sugarcoat it, we got alot of work to do. and if we didn't have alot of work to do, i wouldn't have gotten the job.
- (is there a trade you wish you didn't do over the past two years). no. everything that was done, needed to be done. we needed to get our heads above water and now we have it above water. we have a foundation to build with. we're stacking the pieces, trying to build a tower.
- (no draft pick). i look at the draft and study the draft harder than anybody else. and he said if they had the #1 pick, would i take eddy over anybody else? and the answer is yes. and if eddy came out, he would be the #1. i did my work early, and i already got my #1 pick in eddy. when you draft or trade for a young player like eddy, it's a gamble and the key is being with the right coach that will put the discipline and work ethic in him. if eddy curry wasn't with lb, i would have a huge question mark but with eddy and lb together, i'll take my chances with that mix.
- (march 1st, is marbury a knicks, yes or no?) yes. i think he'll be a happy knick and i believe in the mental stamina to weather the storm. and i'm hoping he doesn't cave into it mentally. when i started with coach knight, you hate the coach. then eventually you realize he's not going to back down so then you start changing. and the more you start changing, the more you realize that the coach was right. and i hope that's what's happening here. that's the beauty about lb. he finds a way to get these guys to play the position and do it right. he has a stubborness about him, very demanding, and relentless. either you're gonna do it, or you're mentally wilt. and i think marbury will. a year ago, we couldn't see any future and now we are moving in the right direction.
- (about the marbury trade). at the time, i remember walking into the garden and saw the hopelessness and despair. and marbury's first year, we went to the playoffs. i won't say it's a total failure. steph was the start of us breathing again and getting some life back. it's ok that lb gets cranky, i just hope he stays with it b/c he's a great coach and we need him.
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4/19/2006 8:58 PM
